Breakdown of Les otages se sont rebellés contre les voleurs.
être
to be
le voleur
the thief
contre
against
l'otage
the hostage (m)
se rebeller
to rebel
Questions & Answers about Les otages se sont rebellés contre les voleurs.
Why does rebellés have an -s at the end?
Se rebeller (to rebel) is an essentially pronominal verb, meaning it only exists with a reflexive pronoun (se). For these types of verbs, the past participle always agrees with the subject in gender and number. Since les otages is masculine plural here, we add an -s.
I thought past participle agreement for reflexive verbs depended on whether the pronoun is a direct or indirect object. Does that apply here?
Normally, yes! For occasionally reflexive verbs (like se laver), you have to figure out if se is a direct or indirect object to know if you should make the agreement. But for essentially pronominal verbs like se rebeller (verbs that do not exist without the se), you get to skip that step. The past participle simply agrees with the subject, every time.
How do we know the gender of les otages here?
The word otage can actually be masculine (un otage) or feminine (une otage) depending on the specific person. However, in French, a mixed group of males and females defaults to masculine plural. The masculine plural agreement on rebellés tells us this is either a group of men or a mixed-gender group.
What are some other common essentially pronominal verbs that follow this same strict agreement rule?
Other common verbs that do not exist without their reflexive pronoun include se souvenir (to remember), s'évanouir (to faint), s'enfuir (to flee), and se méfier (to distrust). Because they are essentially pronominal, their past participles will always agree with the subject in the passé composé.
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